In various fields of construction and fabrication using metal workpieces, two or more workpieces are to be joined by a plurality of rivet connections or bolt connections, for which corresponding bored holes must be provided. Particularly in the construction of aircraft components, ribs, spars and the like, which are referred to herein generally as frame members, and corresponding coupling members for such frame members, are riveted together by fastening rivets through appropriately provided bored holes. In order to bore the required holes, several manual operations have conventionally been required, as follows.
Typically, the components to be joined, such as a frame member and a coupling member, are manually positioned and oriented relative to one another and then clamped in the proper position. One of the components, such as the frame member, the coupling member, or a holder, is provided with pre-bored holes, which in turn are transferred or copied onto the frame member components by means of copy boring. After this pre-boring procedure, the pre-bored holes are bored out manually to the final desired dimensions. In order to debur the bored holes and clean any chips or the like from the components, it is necessary to remove the clamping elements and to separate the components that had already been properly positioned and clamped together. After the deburring and chip cleaning process, the frame member and the coupling member are once again positioned and joined together, whereby a sealing compound is applied at least in partial areas of the components between the surfaces to be joined, and then the components are again manually oriented and positioned, and finally clamped together using screw clamps. Then, the rivets are inserted into the thusly prepared bored holes and the riveting process can be carried out. As is apparent from the above description, this known process for preparing bored holes in clamped-together components in order to achieve a riveted connection between the components is very time consuming and thus very cost intensive.